RANGERS Football Club officially entered administration this afternoon.

The Ibrox club have appointed administrators Duff and Phelps after a court battle with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.

Rangers were given an ultimatum to move into administration at the Court of Session in Edinburgh 24 hours after lodging notice of intent.

The move will trigger an automatic 10-point deduction by the Scottish Premier League, all but handing the title to Celtic.

Former Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston was "not too surprised but still shocked" by today's events.

And former Rangers owner Sir David Murray said: "Words cannot express how hugely disappointed I am with news of today's appointment of administrators."

He also said there was no legal mechanism for him to buy back the club. For Murray's full statement click here .

Rangers appointed their preferred administrator after a court petition was lodged by HMRC to have one appointed for them.

Rangers had been given until 3.30pm to make the appointment following legal debate and did so with around 45 minutes to spare.

The court was told the administrators would be Duff & Phelps, who Rangers named as their preferred partners after lodging papers at the court yesterday signalling their intention to enter administration.

Rangers said a final decision would be taken in 10 working days but their hand was forced by the tax authority.

The Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions, who have fallen 14 points behind leaders Celtic as a result of the decision, are awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal which owner Craig Whyte claims could cost them £75million.

Speaking at the Court of Session, HMRC's legal representative, David Thomson, said the authority was keen to avoid the public perception, and the perception among Rangers' creditors, that the administrator was too close to the club.

However, Rangers' counsel, Roderick Dunlop QC, said Mr Thomson had put forward an "amorphous criticism" of Duff and Phelps, which he called "a respected firm".

Following legal debate, HMRC accepted Duff and Phelps as administrators and their appointment was confirmed shortly before 3pm today.

The Ibrox side, one of the biggest and most influential clubs in Scotland, has now fallen 14 points behind leaders Celtic as a result of the decision.

"Football is our national game and it is now for the administrators to take forward the process of assessing the business and securing an outcome in the best interests of the club, its staff, supporters and the game of football as a whole in Scotland."

Speaking after the proceedings at the Court of Session, Mr Dunlop said: "It was agreed that HMRC would withdraw their petition and Duff and Phelps would be appointed as administrators."

He also confirmed that Rangers FC has accepted the liability for HMRC's expenses incurred in drawing up today's petition.

During the proceedings, Mr Thomson made it clear that he had not made any "direct criticism" of Duff and Phelps.

He said: "The concern is over perception, rather than anything improper."

The appointment follows an afternoon of legal wrangling over who had the right to call in the administrator.

Rangers submitted its notice of intention yesterday but it emerged in court today that just moments later HMRC also filed a petition for a court-appointed administrator over Rangers' unpaid tax bill.

However, Mr Thomson said there was no "unseemly rush over who could get the petition in first".

He said: "Discussions with HMRC came to an end with an indication that HMRC saw itself as entitled to proceed as it saw fit.

"It went up to the court but only moments before the intention to appoint was filed by the directors.

"It is not the case that the petitioner (HMRC) was engaged in some battle to lodge the papers first, as we didn't know for certain that the directors intended to do that."

Rangers had ten days by law to appoint the administrator but its hand was forced by HMRC's action.

Judge Lord Menzies gave Rangers until 3.30pm today to make the appointment. If Rangers failed to comply, Lord Menzies said he would then rule on HMRC's petition for a court-appointed administrator.

During the adjournment, the parties agreed on Duff and Phelps and HMRC withdrew its petition.

Speaking after the proceedings at the Court of Session, Mr Dunlop said: "It was agreed that HMRC would withdraw their petition and Duff and Phelps would be appointed as administrators."

He also confirmed that Rangers FC has accepted the liability for HMRC's expenses incurred in drawing up today's petition.

During the proceedings, Mr Thomson made it clear that he had not made any "direct criticism" of Duff and Phelps.

He said: "The concern is over perception, rather than anything improper."

The appointment follows an afternoon of legal wrangling over who had the right to call in the administrator.

Rangers submitted its notice of intention yesterday but it emerged in court today that just moments later HMRC also filed a petition for a court-appointed administrator over Rangers' unpaid tax bill.

However, Mr Thomson said there was no "unseemly rush over who could get the petition in first".

He said: "Discussions with HMRC came to an end with an indication that HMRC saw itself as entitled to proceed as it saw fit.

"It went up to the court but only moments before the intention to appoint was filed by the directors.

"It is not the case that the petitioner (HMRC) was engaged in some battle to lodge the papers first, as we didn't know for certain that the directors intended to do that."

Rangers had ten days by law to appoint the administrator but its hand was forced by HMRC's action.

Judge Lord Menzies gave Rangers until 3.30pm today to make the appointment. If Rangers failed to comply, Lord Menzies said he would then rule on HMRC's petition for a court-appointed administrator.

During the adjournment, the parties agreed on Duff and Phelps and HMRC withdrew its petition.

Duff and Phelps is expected to issue a formal statement later.

However, a spokesman for the administrators said at this stage: "I can confirm that at 2.50pm today, Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, both of Duff and Phelps, were appointed joint administrators of Rangers Football Club."

Strathclyde Police said it was seeking urgent talks with the administrators over the club's ability to pay for officers at future matches.

A spokesman said: "Strathclyde Police is a public body and has a duty to make sure public resources are used appropriately.

"We are seeking an urgent meeting with the administrators to ensure that any payment for policing costs at future Rangers games is guaranteed.

"Until we have such a guarantee we would not be in a position to commit public resources to policing an event unless we had a reassurance that our costs would be met."

A spokesman for HMRC said: "We can't discuss specific cases for legal reasons but tax that has been deducted at source from the wages of players and support staff such as ground keepers and physios must be paid over to HMRC.

"Any business that fails to meet that basic legal requirement puts the survival of the business at risk."